James Cook Creates Photorealistic Drawings Using Typewriters

London-based artist James Cook (b. 1997) uses typewriters as his primary artistic tool, transforming keys into brushes and characters into pencil strokes. Over the past decade, he has amassed more than sixty typewriters, each with a unique personality and imprint. His works—portraits, urban landscapes, and reinterpretations of art historical masterpieces—are built character by character, achieving a photographic level of detail. Cook carefully selects words and symbols to create visual puzzles that intertwine language and image. Some pieces, such as architectural panoramas of London or New York, take months to complete. Despite the slow process, the results possess a contemporary energy that dialogues with digital aesthetics while retaining the analog charm of manual creation. His prints are produced on archival fine art paper to preserve detail and longevity. Cook's practice demonstrates that a tool designed for writing can visually narrate the world.